Vandals appear to be targeting parked container trailers in Metro Vancouver, which some see as an expression of rising tensionsin the ongoing dispute between container truck drivers and Port Metro over cargo scheduling and rates.

The incident happened at about 8:30 p.m. PT Sunday night. The surveillance video appears to show two men wearing hooded sweatshirts removing a serial number off a trailer and puncturing the tires with a drill.

The tires on this container trailer parked in Surrey were punctured with a drill. (CBC)

The owner of the company isn't a trucker — yet he still fears for his safety. Therefore, CBC News has agreed to conceal his identity.

"I was not in the dispute. I was lucky enough to get my container out the day before the strike, but when we received the container they said, 'Oh, we're on strike. We're not going to pick it up," he said.

Now, the container is indefinitely stuck on the property — without the serial number visible on the trailer, it can't legally be moved off the premises.

This trailer's serial number, which must be displayed for legal road travel, appears to have been scratched off. (CBC)

The estimated cost to replace the eight punctured tires, at roughly $500 apiece, is between $4,000 and $5,000. This small business owner has also learned he may be on the hook for it.

"This is absolutely unfair. I'm already losing money. ... If I have to pay for this, being a small company ... I've heard companies getting bankrupt," he said.

CBC News has learned it's not just this one company being impacted by container trailer vandals. Several semi trailers have recently been damaged along 130th Street in Surrey.

Craig Suveges, who works at Kal Tire, says the damage in some cases is quite severe.

"It seems that a lot of people have been drilling the sidewalls on these tires and also ... someone has been cutting the air lines on these things. We had one of the mechanics down fixing that as well," Suveges said.

The business owner who spoke with CBC News says he is calling police to report the vandalism and to share the footage. He also said he is still negotiating with ICBC and his shipping broker as to who will pay the trailer's repair bill.